Game field dressing safety tool

ABSTRACT

The right handed hunter uses a special safety tool having a pistol grip handle firmly gripped by the hunter&#39;s left hand and having a slot formed in a forward portion of the safety tool for receiving a knife blade with its cutting blade up during dressing of the game. With the right hand of the hunter gripping the knife handle and holding the knife blade within the slot, he pushing the safety tool forward with his left hand while pushing the knife forward with his right hand to form an elongated cut in the game. This arrangement ensures that both hands are safely kept well away from the cutting edge of the knife blade while forming the elongated cut. The slot is a deep one, formed in the forward portion of the safety tool, enabling the tool to receive types of widely used knife blades of any shape.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 11/800,935 filed May 08, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of dressing of large hunted game. U.S. patent to Goodwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,202 issued Sep. 22, 1981 discloses a field game dressing device that is attached to a knife and covers the knife tip. The cutting edge of the knife faces upwardly and is pushed forward to produce the required elongated cut in the hide of the game after the initial short cut that accommodates the cutting edge of the knife. The top portion of the tip of the field dressing device lifts the hide of the animal upwardly to best position it to be cut, while the bottom portion of the tip of the field dressing device is configured to push the entrails of the game downwardly away from the knife which prevents the entrails from being cut, which cutting could otherwise contaminate the meat of the game. The device is attached to the knife by a string that is wrapped about the knife handle for holding the device in place over the knife tip. The inventor states in col. 3 of the patent that the string can serve to retrieve the device if it should fall off within the animal being gutted. Accordingly, the present inventor regards this attachment of the dressing device to the knife to be a detriment. Additionally, if the hunter becomes distracted during cutting of the elongated cut, he could turn the knife downwardly and accidentally cut his fingers or hand. Accidentally turning the cutting edge of the knife downwardly could also occur in the knife guard apparatus of patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,100 issued to Musland on Nov. 15, 2005. This knife guard also has the disadvantage of not allowing the use of knives of varying configurations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a special, rugged, safety tool is provided, having a safety tool pistol grip handle configured to be firmly gripped by the left hand of a right handed hunter and having a deep knife blade support slot formed in a forward portion of the safety tool for receiving the knife blade, with its cutting blade up, during dressing of the game, and wherein the knife blade slot is configured to keep the knife handle above and away from the safety tool for facilitating gripping of the knife handle by the right hand of the hunter. With the right hand of the hunter gripping the knife handle and holding the knife blade within the slot, the hunter pushes the safety tool forward with his left hand while pushing the knife forward with his right hand to form the required elongated cut in the game. This arrangement, in contrast with the teachings of the aforesaid patents, ensures that both hands are kept well away from the cutting edge of the knife blade while forming the elongated cut to prevent accidental cutting of the hunter's fingers or hands.

Also, the deep elongated slot formed in the forward portion of the safety tool renders the tool capable of receiving knife blades of numerous configurations. Thus the tool can be used with virtually any knife already in the hands of the hunter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the invention may become apparent upon reading of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 discloses a top view of the safety tool;

FIG. 2 discloses a front view of the safety tool;

FIG. 3 discloses a sectional view taken through A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 discloses a sectional view taken through B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 discloses a top view of the safety tool with the knife edge positioned therein; and

FIG. 6 discloses a front view of the safety tool with the knife edge positioned therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a safety tool 1 has a tool handle 2 configured in the form of a pistol grip and having a finger hole 3 for receiving one or more fingers of the hunter for producing good tight control of the tool. The forward portion of the tool has a knife blade support portion preferably in the form of a deep elongated slot 4 for receiving the cutting blade of the knife as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Nose portion 5 pushes the hide upwardly and away from the entrails of the animal, typically a deer, for deterring contamination of the meat, by cutting into the entrails , as the knife and tool are urged forwardly together. Finger hole is also shown in the FIG. 3 sectional within the tool handle 2 whereas the lower slot portion is shown in the FIG. 4 sectional.

The left hand of a right handed hunter firmly grips the tool handle 2 with its finger hole 3 and the hunter inserts the knife blade 7 of knife 6, cutting edge up, into the slot 4 as shown in FIG. 6 by grasping the knife handle 8 with his right hand. The blade is preferably oriented at roughly 45 degrees from the horizontal as shown. The knife 6 is also shown in the top view of FIG. 5 with its blade 7 positioned within slot 4. The knife handle 8 and nose portion 5 is also shown in this figure.

With the right hand of the hunter gripping the knife handle 8, and keeping the knife blade 7 within the slot 4, the hunter pushes the safety tool forward with his left hand while simultaneously pushing the knife forward with his right hand to form the required elongated cut in the hide. This arrangement, in contrast with the teachings of the aforesaid patents, actually forces keeping both hands far away from the cutting edge of the knife blade while forming the elongated cut. Thus an important benefit of the invention prevents accidental cutting of the hunter's fingers or hands. Of course, left handed hunters would usually use the right hand to grip the safety tool and the left hand to grip the knife handle.

The deep elongated slot formed in the forward portion of the safety tool renders the tool capable of receiving knife blades of numerous configurations. Thus the tool can be used with virtually any knife already in the hands of the hunter. Of course the safety tool could optionally be sold along with a suitable knife. The safety tool could be economically manufactured as a single rugged piece of injection molded plastic.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, the description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A method enabling a hunter to safely field dress a large game animal comprising the: steps of: (a) providing said hunter with a safety tool for enabling the hunter to safely field dress a large game animal by cutting its hide with a knife having a knife handle and knife blade having a cutting edge, said safety tool having a safety tool handle configured to be firmly gripped by a first hand of said hunter and having support means for supporting said knife with its knife blade facing up, thus enabling pushing of the hide upwardly and away from entrails of said large game animal during cutting of said hide; (b) positioning the cutting edge of the knife blade with respect to said support means with its cutting edge up; and (c) pushing the safety tool forward with a first hand of said hunter while pushing the knife forward with a second hand of said hunter for forming an elongated cut in the hide of the game in accordance with dressing of said large game animal.
 2. A method enabling a hunter to safely field dress a large game animal comprising the steps of: (a) providing said hunter with a safety tool for enabling the hunter to safely field dress a large game animal by cutting its hide with a knife having a knife handle and a knife blade having a cutting edge, said safety tool having a safety tool handle configured to be firmly gripped by a first hand of said hunter and having a deep slot formed in a forward portion of the safety tool for supporting and containing an upwardly facing cutting edge of the knife blade during dressing of said large game animal, and wherein said deep slot is positioned and configured to keep the cutting edge of the blade of said knife facing away from fingers of a first hand of the hunter gripping the safety tool handle; and wherein said deep slot is deep enough to receive and contain more than a very small portion of the cutting edge of said knife, thereby to deter jumping of the knife blade out of the deep slot that can cut said hunter; (b) positioning the knife blade within the deep slot with its cutting edge up and facing away from the first hand of the hunter; and (c) pushing the safety tool forward with the first hand of said hunter while pushing the knife forward with a second hand of said hunter forming an elongated cut in the hide of the game in accordance with dressing of said large game animal.
 3. A method enabling a hunter to safely field dress a large game animal comprising the steps of: (a) providing said hunter with a safety tool for enabling the hunter to safely field dress a large game animal by cutting its hide with a knife having a knife handle and a knife blade having a cutting edge, said safety tool having a safety tool handle configured to be firmly gripped by a first hand of said hunter and having a deep slot formed in a forward portion of the safety tool, adjacent a nose portion that is widely separated from said safety tool handle, said deep slot being configured for pushing the hide upwardly and away from entrails of said animal during cutting of said hide, and for supporting and containing an upwardly facing cutting edge of the knife blade during dressing of said large game animal, said cutting edge being positioned adjacent said nose portion, and wherein said deep slot is positioned and configured to keep the cutting edge of the knife blade facing away from fingers of the first hand of the hunter gripping the safety tool handle; and wherein said deep slot is deep enough to receive and contain more than a very small portion of the cutting edge of said knife, thereby to deter jumping of the knife blade out of the deep slot that can cut said hunter; (b) positioning the cutting edge of the knife blade within the deep slot with its cutting edge up and facing away from the first hand of the hunter; and (c) pushing the safety tool forward with the first hand of the hunter while pushing the knife forward with a second hand of said hunter forming an elongated cut in the hide of the game in accordance with dressing of the large game animal.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said deep slot is wide enough and deep enough for facilitating receiving knife blades of numerous configurations.
 5. The method of claim 2 wherein said deep slot is wide enough and deep enough for facilitating receiving knife blades of numerous configurations.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein said deep slot is wide enough and deep enough for facilitating receiving knife blades of numerous configurations.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said safety tool handle has a pistol grip configuration for enabling the safety tool to be very firmly gripped by the hand of said hunter.
 8. The method of claim 2 wherein said safety tool handle has a pistol grip configuration for enabling the safety tool to be very firmly gripped by the hand of said hunter.
 9. The method of claim 3 wherein said safety tool handle has a pistol grip configuration for enabling the safety tool to be very firmly gripped by the hand of said hunter. 